The golden rays of the sun spilled over the horizon, filtered through the massive, ancient branches of the huge oak tree that stood sentinel over the estate. The morning air was thick with the hum of life,the rhythmic crowing of a distant rooster and the persistent, annoying buzz of mosquitoes seeking a final meal before the heat of the day.
One such intruder landed on Cassandra's arm. Before it could sink its proboscis, Lisanna's hand blurred through the air, catching the insect between two fingers with terrifying precision.
"Mischievous little bloodsucker," Lisanna murmured, a small, satisfied smirk playing on her lips as she crushed it.
She turned her gaze to Cassandra, who remained lost in the depths of a heavy slumber, Leaning down, Lisanna brushed her cool fingertips across the girl's cheek.
"Wake up, honey, Time for your bath, or the water will go cold."
Cassandra groaned, her body twisting in a slow, groggy stretch. As she reached out blindly, her hand landed squarely on Lisanna's chest, giving an unintentional, light squeeze.
Lisanna didn't flinch; instead, a playful chuckle escaped her. "Well, if you were that curious about the competition, Cassandra, you really could have just asked for a look."
Cassandra's eyes snapped open. She sat up, rubbing her own chest with a deep, frustrated frown. "Why are mine still so small? It's not fair."
Lisanna reached out, tucking a stray hair behind Cassandra's ear. "Patience, little bird. They'll grow when the time is right. You're sixteen; you've got plenty of time for your body to catch up with that sharp brain of yours." She stood, heading for the door. "The hot water is already drawn. Take your bath quickly, breakfast will be ready soon."
Leaving the girl to her grumbling, Lisanna moved down the hall to the boys' quarters. She knocked once, then pushed the door open to find Phobos sprawled across his bed, his snoring loud enough to rattle the windowpane.
Lisanna sighed, a mixture of affection and exasperation on her face. She sat on the edge of the bed and ran a gentle hand over his forehead. "Phobos, Aristo, time to rise."
In his sleep, Phobos's hand twitched. Instinctively, he reached out, his palm brushing against Lisanna's chest. He didn't pull away; instead, his fingers closed in a subconscious squeeze,Lisanna froze
Her smile didn't fade, but its temperature dropped by twenty degrees.
Phobos's eyes fluttered open. For a moment, he looked dazed, feeling the unexpected softness beneath his hand. Then, his gaze traveled upward, meeting Lisanna's fixed, amused stare. The blood drained from his face instantly. He recoiled as if burned, his back hitting the headboard.
"Phobos." Her voice was sweet—syrup poured over a razor blade.
"I—I—" Phobos stammered, his throat bone-dry. He turned frantically toward the lump of blankets in the next bed. "Aristo! Hey! Aristo, wake up! Help me!"
A muffled groan came from the pile of sheets. "Unless the house is literally turning to ash or breakfast is being served on a silver platter, do not speak to me," Aristo muttered, pulling the blanket tighter.
Phobos looked back at Lisanna. She hadn't moved. She was still smiling that terrifyingly kind smile.
"Good morning, Phobos," she said softly. "It's time for your bath. But before you go... tell me, what exactly were you dreaming about just now?"
Phobos's jaw worked silently, but no sound came out.
With a final, mocking pat on his knee, Lisanna stood and swept out of the room. The moment the door clicked shut, Aristo sat up, a wicked smirk plastered across his face.
"So," Aristo began, his eyes gleaming. "Did you actually touch her? Or was that my imagination?"
"It wasn't on purpose!" Phobos hissed, clutching his head. "My hands... they just moved! It was an instinct!"
Aristo laughed, leaning back against his pillows. "Oh, 'morning instincts.' That's a classic. Good luck using that as a shield when she decides to 'accidentally' skip your portion of bacon."
"You could take the blame for me," Phobos pleaded. "Tell her you pushed my arm!"
"I'd love to be a hero, brother," Aristo grinned, "but I happen to enjoy warm baths and living to see tomorrow. You're on your own."
As the children prepared for the day, the presence of the adults was conspicuously thin. Maria, as was her habit, had practically vanished into the world of parchment and ink, spending her days lost within the towering shelves of the Greatlibrary.
Damon, however, was a different story. Since being replaced seven years ago by Xandros Bladestorm, the man who once carried heavy burdens now carried nothing but a fishing rod or a handful of stories. With no pressing duties to occupy his mind, he had become a fixture of the local marketplace.
"Another quiet morning, Damon?" an elderly woman at the fruit stall asked as he strolled by.
"The best kind, Martha," Damon replied with a relaxed wave. "The fish aren't biting, but the gossip is always fresh." He spent his days chatting with the elderly women in the market place or sitting by the water, a man seemingly content to let the world move on without him while Xandros struggled to adjust to the weight of the responsibilities Damon had once held.
Because of this, the heavy lifting of raising Aristo, Phobos, and Cassandra fell to Lisanna. She was the glue holding the Damon house together while Maria studied and Damon drifted.
MYSTICA LYTHORIA
SENIOR CLASS 1
The atmosphere within the halls of Mystic Lythoria was heavy, saturated with the scent of aged parchment and the faint, metallic hum of residual energy. Maya paced the front of the classroom, the sharp, rhythmic click of her heels striking the stone floor with the cold precision of a metronome. Her presence alone demanded an absolute, stifling silence.
"Magic," she began, her voice cutting through the quiet, "is expressed through symbols, runes, and incantations. Its primary purpose is simple: to reduce the volume of Dio or Eno required to manifest an effect. Whether you are performing high-level spells or the simplest phenomena, magic is your greatest tool for efficiency."
She paused, looking out over her students. "Magic is slower to prepare, yes, but it is vastly more sustainable. It allows a caster to avoid energy exhaustion by embedding their intent into structured symbols rather than forcing that energy directly through the physical body."
To demonstrate, Maya drew a small circle on a scrap of paper, her hand moving with practiced grace. She inscribed a series of intricate symbols within the border, then fused a spark of Eno into the diagram before tossing it into the air. Instantly, a thick, billowing cloud of smoke erupted from the paper, filling the front of the room.
"This effect," she noted as the smoke curled around her, "requires three specific elements. Fire and Water combine to create a searing, steam-like heat, while Wind directs and stabilizes the smoke to hold the effect together. Executing this manually—using a technique directly from your body—would be faster, but it would require significantly more energy. Magic takes time, but it is safer."
She turned toward a diagram of a glass-like tube etched into the wall. "This is your Surge Vessel. It is the internal container for both your Eno and your Dio. The more you train, the more Dio your vessel can hold. But be warned: overfilling or misusing it can cause the glass to crack or even shatter entirely, what I meant by that is, you might go crazy, it doesn't actually break in a sense"
Maya then began to distinguish the two energies. "Eno is an energy crafted from Dio. It is used for smaller, more controlled purposes and serves as the foundation for unlocking your true potential. Dio, however, is the first energy known to mankind. Every living being possesses it as their very essence, yet for most, it remains in a Locked State. While Dio can achieve powerful, complex effects, doing so places an immense strain on the body."
She spoke of the progression of power, noting that while many master Eno to unlock Dio, some experience a Dio Surge. This premature activation, triggered by intense stress or danger, grants overwhelming power but risks permanent instability or the total destruction of the Surge Vessel.
"There are three stages to this power," Maya continued. "First is the Unlocking. Once mastered, you reach the First Tier. This is where most practitioners stop—not by choice, but because they hit a wall in their growth. Above that is the Second Tier. Those who reach this level by chance find their Dio becoming even stronger, granting them the ability to perform truly bizarre feats."
She commanded them to open their books to page six, pointing to a report from five years ago. "Knowledge is the key, and this report details someone who tapped into that Second Tier. We used to have two moons, but due to the event involving this individual, the sky changed. The person in question was an astronomer who spent his life studying the stars for other lifeforms. He contracted a divine illness after consuming a Diochrome—a stone of solidified, high-density Dio energy."
"The energy affected his brain, and in his altered state, he created a third moon. We know it now as the Red Moon, which appears only at the end of the year. This helps us understand that the Second Tier is nothing like the first. And then," she lowered her voice, "there is the Third Tier. It is unproven, a mere theory, but research suggests that at this height, one could create new planets—or even bring back the dead."
The classroom, previously silent, suddenly erupted into a chaotic roar of whispers and excitement as the weight of her words settled over the students.
The heavy oak door of the classroom creaked open, interrupting the lecture as another teacher stepped inside. After a brief, whispered exchange, Maya stepped back into the room, followed by a presence that seemed to pull a chill of elegance along with it.
The new student was striking. She possessed long, soaking white hair that shimmered like liquid silver, and two delicate white horns curved gracefully from her head. The classroom fell into a breathless, stunned silence.
"More demi-humans," a girl seated at the back murmured to herself, her eyes narrowing.
"Introduce yourself," Maya commanded.
The girl tucked a wet strand of hair behind a horn, her voice smooth and melodic. "I'm Hesper, from Fulton. Nice to meet you all."
As she navigated the aisle toward the back, she passed Cassandra. For a fraction of a second, their eyes locked—a silent acknowledgment of power.
"Now then," Maya said, reclaiming the room's attention. "Who can explain the process of creating a clone, accompanied by a demonstration?"
Noah's hand shot up instantly. With his shock of green hair and matching eyes, he stole a quick glance at Hesper. In his mind, a short, vivid imagination played out: Noah, you're so smart and strong... I love you, Hesper would say.
"Noah!" Maya's sharp voice snapped him back to earth.
He cleared his throat, standing tall. "Visualization, structure, and the infusion of Dio or Eno. In other words, you craft the image in your mind and fill that construct with energy to bring it to life."
"Demonstrate," Maya said.
Noah walked to the front, a confident smirk playing on his lips. With a surge of Eno, he snapped his fingers. Two clones appeared, then ten. Determined to impress the newcomer, he pushed himself to his absolute limit. Sweat began to bead on his forehead as he forced out more copies until twenty identical versions of himself crowded the aisles. He stood there, gasping for air, his reserves nearly dry.
"An impressive quantity," Maya noted dryly. "But what of the quality? Can they take a beating? Hesper, check their stability."
"Yes, ma'am," Hesper replied, rising from her seat.
She didn't move from her spot. She simply flicked her fingers toward the crowd of clones. In a blur of motion so fast that only the top tier of the class—the elite few—could track it, all twenty clones vanished instantly.
"What... what did she do?" Noah stammered, his hard work erased in a heartbeat.
Cassandra watched the space where the clones had been, her mind racing. The same technique from before, she whispered to herself. She compressed water into molecules, infused them with air, and expanded it into a nearly invisible thread. Making it transparent to the eye and adding Dio energy... it's deadly. She's my rival.
THE JUNIOR CLASS 4
In the younger wing of the academy, the lecture on innate power continued.
Maya begins her lecture
"Every person is born with a Birth Element," the teacher explained. "It is an innate force you are capable of wielding. Training doesn't grant you this power; it only determines if you ever learn to master it. Most people live ordinary lives without ever realizing the element they possess. The primary forces are Fire, Water, Air, and Earth, though some are born with mixed elements like Lightning or Fog."
The door opened, and a young girl stepped in. She had long white hair, blue eyes, and two pointed horns, complemented by a pair of reading glasses.
"Sorry for the intrusion. I'm Zira; I've been told to come to this class."
"You're the new student I was expecting," the teacher smiled. "Don't be shy; introduce yourself."
"Hi, I'm Zira. I'm from Fulton. Nice to meet you all."
As the lecture resumed, the peace was shattered by a loud sound A shoe flew through the air, catching Phobos square in the forehead. He jolted upright, nearly falling off his chair.
"I wasn't sleeping, Dad! I mean, Professor!" Phobos shouted. "I was using detection to monitor the marketplace!"
The classroom erupted in howling laughter.
"Remain standing, Phobos!, throw back my shoe " the teacher barked before turning back to the board.
Zira walked straight into the classroom she took a seat closer to Phobos.
Zira leaned over, whispering to him, "Hi, I'm Zira. Is it... normal for shoes to fly in here?"
Phobos leaned against the wall, yawning widely. "Only if you're me.
But don't worry, she's got bad aim. She usually misses."
A moment later, the teacher called, "Aristo, come forward."
Zira watched as Aristo stood, his eyes covered. She leaned toward Phobos again.
"Why does he cover his eyes? Is he blind?"
"Nah," Phobos whispered, his own eyes already dropping closed. "Not really, He gets shy around girls, so instead, he learned detection. He sees the world in a whole different way."
"I see," Zira murmured, fascinated.
LUNCH BREAK
The cafeteria was a hive of activity. Cassandra moved through the crowd and slid into the seat directly opposite Hesper.
"Still stalking me?" Hesper asked, not bothering to look up from her meal.
"You noticed me, huh?" Cassandra chuckled. "I was curious about your technique. The thread—you used water and air to make it invisible."
Hesper's eyes flickered with a spark of genuine amusement.
"So you figured it out. I didn't think humans were that sharp."
Cassandra smirked, gesturing toward a nearby table. "I'm not the only one. Look behind you—Koji, Logan, Sakura... they caught on too. You've made quite the impression on your first day."
Hesper finally looked Cassandra in the eye.
"So, why are you so interested in me?"
Cassandra's grin widened, her eyes flashing with ambition. "You're strong. I intend to make you my rival."
For the first time, Hesper looked mildly surprised. Then, a slow, dangerous smirk mirrored Cassandra's. "Interesting. Let's see if you can keep up, human."